If you've been advised to increase your dietary intake of iron, you have an array of foods from which to choose. Heme sources of iron are derived from the protein in animal blood. Your body readily absorbs iron from heme sources. For vegetarians, only nonheme, plant-based iron sources, are an option, but your body absorbs 2 to 20 percent of the iron in nonheme sources compared to 15 to 35 percent of the iron in heme sources. Tell your doctor if you're a vegetarian and he may suggest a vitamin C supplement to help your body better absorb iron from the foods you eat. Ask your doctor to tell you how many milligrams of iron you should aim for each day.
Thrombocytosis
A normal platelet count ranges from 150,000 to 400,000 platelets per microliter of blood. If your platelet count is only slightly higher, it may be due to some variation at the lab, but an excessive platelet count may mean that you have thrombocytosis. Primary thrombocytosis is caused by an abnormality in your bone marrow. Secondary thrombocytosis may be due to anemia, recent surgery or disease. Left untreated, thrombocytosis can cause blood clots.
Meat, Poultry and Fish
Meat, fish and poultry are all heme sources of iron. A 3-ounce serving of 75 percent lean, ground beef has about 2 milligrams of iron. The same serving size of beef liver has more than double that, 5.2 milligrams of iron. A 5-ounce serving of canned chicken, packed in broth, has 2.2 milligrams of iron. If you enjoy seafood, focus on clams; just 3 ounces has nearly 12 milligrams of iron while the same portion of sardines has 2.5 milligrams of iron. A 3-ounce piece of dark-meat turkey has 1.96 milligrams of iron.
Dairy and Eggs
Eggs and egg substitute both provide you with iron. A 1/4-cup serving of egg substitute has 1.32 milligrams of iron and a large, poached egg has 0.92 milligrams of iron. One cup of reduced-fat, chocolate milk has 0.6 milligrams of iron and a 1-cup serving of low-fat cottage cheese has 0.34 milligrams of iron.
Beans and Legumes
Beans and legumes are especially rich sources of nonheme iron. A 1-cup, cooked serving of canned baked beans with pork and tomato sauce has 8.2 milligrams of iron; kidney beans, 5.2 milligrams; vegetarian baked beans, 3 milligrams; lentils, 6.6 milligrams; lima beans, 4.5 milligrams and 8.8 milligrams for mature soybeans.
Grains
You may be unfamiliar with some grains, but give them a try for their nonheme iron content. Barley, which has 2 milligrams of iron in 1 cup, can be boiled and used as a rice substitute, although with 3.2 milligrams per cup, white rice is also high in iron. Bulgur has 3.2 milligrams of iron in a 1-cup serving; an oat bran muffin, 2.4 milligrams and puffed wheat cereal, 3.8 milligrams. A packet of instant grits has 8 milligrams of iron and instant oatmeal has 3.8 milligrams per serving.
Fruits and Vegetables
Dark green, leafy vegetables are normally high in iron, but beets prove an exception to that rule. One cup of beets has 3 milligrams of iron. One cup of broccoli has 1 milligram of iron; Chinese cabbage, 1.8 milligrams; collard greens, 2 milligrams; dandelion greens, 1.9 milligrams and kale 1.2 milligrams. As for fruit, focus on dried apricots, prunes and raisins for iron but fresh fruit, especially citrus fruit, can provide you with the vitamin C that helps with iron absorption.
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